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CU-Boulder drone team disappointed in FAA decision to bypass Colorado

Feds pick 6 other sites for testing, development of unmanned aircraft systems

By Sarah Kuta Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
12/30/2013 09:38:59 AM MST

Updated:
12/30/2013 10:40:59 PM MST

University of Colorado research support member James Mach works on his laptop next to an unmanned aircraft system at CU's Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles in February. (Jeremy Papasso / Daily Camera)

Representatives of the University of Colorado and the local unmanned-aviation industry expressed deep disappointment Monday over news that Colorado will not be home to one of the Federal Aviation Administration's six planned drone test sites.

CU led Colorado's bid to bring one of the national Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS, test sites to the state, but when FAA officials announced the locations of the test sites across the country on Monday, Colorado did not make the cut.

The FAA chose from 25 proposals in 24 states, ultimately selecting the University of Alaska, the state of Nevada, New York's Griffiss International Airport, North Dakota Department of Commerce, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The sites will host the development and testing of drones while sharing the skies with commercial airliners.

"It is extremely disappointing when you consider it's not just the effort that the University of Colorado put into this, but the effort from around the state," CU aerospace engineering sciences professor Brian Argrow said. "(It's) the partnerships we formed with industry and agency partners from around the state.

"It's a loss for the state of Colorado."

Argrow, who helped lead Colorado's test site application efforts, said he will request a "debrief" from the FAA in the next 10 days to better understand why Colorado was not selected.

In a statement released Monday, the FAA said sites were chosen for geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, safety, aviation experience and risk.

In October, there had been some discussion of applicants that were not selected by the FAA collaborating with those locations that will host test sites. Argrow said Colorado first needs to understand why it wasn't selected by the agency before moving forward.

"We will ask for (the debrief) and determine what was the basis of their decision and use that information then to get with our partners and plan what the next step is," he said.

'We thought we had a very good chance'

Campus officials had hoped that the formation last month of the startup business Rocky Mountain UAS would greatly strength Colorado's chances of being awarded a test site.

Rocky Mountain UAS has been working hand-in-hand with CU and the rest of Colorado's UAS interests to prepare for the state's hoped-for future in UAS development.

"Obviously, yes, we're disappointed," said Gary Bartmann, Rocky Mountain UAS chief executive officer. "We thought we had a very good chance of being one of the six test sites, so the announcement was actually somewhat of a surprise because we were quite confident given the heritage of UAS in Colorado.

"Nevertheless we are going to continue to pursue UAS activities in Colorado."

It had been estimated that if Colorado hosted a testing site, it could have meant $1.4 billion and 1,760 jobs for the state's economy between 2015 and 2025.

Argrow said while the jobs and money weren't guaranteed necessarily, a testing site would've definitely been a "hub of activity" in the state.

The FAA is under mandate from Congress to integrate commercial drones into the nation's airspace starting in 2015.

Drones have been mainly used by the military, but governments, businesses, farmers and others are making plans to join the market. Many universities are starting or expanding drone programs.

"These test sites will give us valuable information about how best to ensure the safe introduction of this advanced technology into our nation's skies," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.

Test site operations will continue until at least Feb. 13, 2017, according to FAA officials.

In the case of Alaska, the FAA cited a diverse set of test site range locations in seven climatic zones. New York's site at Griffiss International Airport will look into integrating drones into the congested northeast airspace.

The state of North Dakota already has committed $5 million to the venture and named a former state Air National Guard Commander as its test site director.

The FAA does not allow commercial use of drones, but it is working to develop operational guidelines by the end of 2015, although officials concede the project may take longer than expected. The FAA projects some 7,500 commercial drones could be aloft within five years of getting widespread access to American airspace.

'A very strong team'

Bartmann said moving forward, the Colorado unmanned aircraft systems team will continue working in collaboration to figure out what's next for drones in Colorado.

About 100 team members representing 10 regional economic development agencies, seven universities, five industry associations, two state agencies and dozens of private companies helped apply to the FAA on behalf of Colorado.

"We had assembled a really great team, a very strong team, so we want to leverage everything we've pulled together and still turn it into a win for Colorado," Bartmann said.

An industry-commissioned study last spring predicted more than 70,000 jobs would develop in the first three years after Congress loosens restrictions on U.S. skies. The same study projects an average salary range for a drone pilot between $85,000 and $115,000.

"Safety continues to be our first priority as we move forward with integrating unmanned systems into U.S. airspace," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement. "We have successfully brought new technology into the nation's aviation system for more than 50 years, and I have no doubt we will do the same with unmanned aircraft."

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